The Mystery Revealed

I wrote recently about the mystery of Christ's suffering and how our (my) sin of pride often puts me in contempt of the suffering that he endured. And, while it's true that He did choose that time and place to be conceived, born, live, minister, suffer and die (and don't forget, rise from the dead!), the reason was not just the suffering itself.

By enduring the suffering, He shows us that He loves us. Jesus did it because He does love us. And, because by doing so, He demonstrates what love is, what it means to love. Loving means to give of oneself, to empty oneself. To love means to will the good of the other. And, love is always sacrificial. Maybe it's waking up in the middle of the night to feed an infant, when all you really want to do is sleep. Maybe it means giving your time at the food pantry when you could be getting things done at your own house. Maybe it means giving your child your own meal when there is not enough for both of you.

And, it's not just Jesus who gave of Himself in His act of suffering and death. God the Father also showed us what it means to love. He sacrificed something (Someone) that we would never dream of. He gave His all when He gave His only son. It would be like us giving up that one last thing that we are hanging onto, the one remaining beautiful thing that is ours, because it is God's will. Because it has a greater purpose to bring glory to God.

The other thing about love is that, by nature, it is a gift. We cannot force someone to accept a gift. They may or may not return the love to you. So, when we try to love someone and they refuse it or take it and never "return the favor" by loving us back, it can really hurt. When this has happened to me, it really does cause pain. But, even the Perfect Lover who gave the perfect gift of love does not always receive love in return. So, it makes me realize that perhaps my love wasn't so perfect after all, when I give and expect to be loved back. When we give without wanting something in return, then we truly free the other to receive our love for what it is - a gift.

God extends the same to us. We have free will. We can choose to accept Him or not. If He only allowed us to receive Him, then it would not be love. He would be forcing it on us, which is not love. Instead, He allows us the will to refuse or receive the gift. And, oh how He delights when we love Him back, just as we bask in the joy of being loved by our own little children, who often do so with reckless abandon.

Lord, may we accept your gift of love, even when it is hard to believe
that your love is for us or when sin clouds our vision. May we learn to
love those around us with the same self-gift that you give us.